Tessari a perfect fit for MonroevilleBy
Don Hohler - Reflector Sportswriter
COLUMBUS — Cam Tessari
is the “other wrestler”
among Monroeville’s Fab Four.
The freshman is the one with three losses. But,
don’t let that fool you. He is barb wire just like
the Stieber brothers and Chris Phillips.
“I have three losses but they don’t hold it
against me,” said Tessari, a 3.44 student.
Tessari lost to David Taylor, 10-4, the nation No. 1
at 112 from St. Paris Graham, to Shawn Boyle from
Blair Academy, New Jersey, 3-2 in a controversial
call in the end, and to a Pennsylvania wrestler in a
tournament that saw beat an opponent he handled
earlier in the tournament, only to lose 8-7 in a
rematch in the final seconds.
“The Stieber Brothers got me started in wrestling
and it has grown from there,” Tessari said as he
cooled off from his first match in Columbus late
Thursday afternoon.
It was a pin 14 seconds into the second period
against Brian Brakeman’s eighth-ranked wrestler and
his 36th victory.
“We kind of thought we would be pretty good at it.”
Tessari said. “One of my moves in an attempt at
getting better was to move up to LaGrange to work
with Ron Burnette at his All-American camp.
“I wrestled up there for a couple of years. Then
Mr. Stieber (Jeff) invited me to wrestle with his
boys, first in his basement. We called ourselves the
‘Ohio Dogs’. It got so big as far as total wrestlers
though that we moved the operation over to my house
into the garage. It continued to grow so we moved
again, this time down the road to a former
grain-storage barn on Wikel Road.”
The barn is an every-night stop for those wrestlers
who want to work against the best in an effort to
become the best.
“You name it and they show up,” Tessari said. “It
can be little kids who want to get started or it can
be state qualifiers from Michigan, Ohio or wherever.
We train hard. We work hard at getting better. My
goal is the same as everyone who trains there, get
better, get a college scholarship and take what you
learned into life.”
Tessari was not certain just how good he really was
until he wrestled at Brecksville earlier this
season. He faced three state-ranked athletes and
beat all three of them in close matches.
“I knew the Stieber boys and the rest of the guys in
the barn had me ready to compete but winning was
another thing,’’ he said. “I had to prove that to
myself.”
Tessari has the same answer as Logan and Hunter
Stieber and Chris Phillips when it comes to what
makes them nearly bullet-proof in state competition. We train hard, very very hard and we train hard
both under coach (Scott) Bauer and then in the
barn,’’ he said. “And we do it every night. Seldom
do we take a night or a day off. I see us as
out-working the field. Nine times out of 10, we will
win the close match.
“In my case, a steady diet of Logan and Hunter along
with guys like Jamie Clark from Lakewood St. Ed’s
tends to get you ready. Logan is the best though. He
pushes me to new limits almost every time out."
Can Tessari stay at 112 pounds for another year?
“No way,” he said. “How about 125 or maybe even 130.
I really have to watch what I eat now, egg whites in
the morning, salad for lunch, stuff like that.
Mark and Carla’s son will take some time off after
this weekend. His body probably needs a break.
But for not long though.
“The Disney Duals in Florida are coming up,’’
Tessari said. “We all got some getting ready to do
in order to be ready for that bunch.”
(picture : Monroeville
freshman Cam Tessari (right) takes on Delphos
St. John's Brian Merschman in a Division III
112-pound first-round match.Tessari is one of four
Eagles wrestling for a state championship today.)
